Rual Diaz arrived in Barbados last weekend with the intention of enjoying the sun, sand and sea. He did not expect that he would have to spring to action to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on another visitor who got into difficulties while at the Crane Beach.
Diaz, 44, recalled that on Monday, he and a group of family and friends who came to the island to attend a wedding were on the beach at the Crane where they are staying, relaxing following a swim, when they heard two women screaming.
He said, seconds after, they saw the women pulling an elderly man from the water. Diaz said he and members of his group ran to the women when they noticed that the man, who appeared to have gotten into difficulties in the water, was unconscious.
He said: “Because of the waves he was bleeding from his head, just a little bit. . .When we took him out of the water, I started to do CPR. All of the tourists on the beach were suddenly running to him and I think I was the first to start to do CPR because I have some knowledge. I used to work as a lifeguard in Spain where I am from, and I practice surfing, so I know the ocean.”
Diaz said due to the man’s state, onlookers seemed nervous. He recalled that a female visitor, whom he believes identified herself as a nurse from the US, bravely came and offered to assist in resuscitating the man.
He said after about seven to eight minutes, the man who was in distress began to show signs that he was still alive.
“He started to throw a lot of water, like he was full because there was a lot of water in his stomach. At the beginning, we were quite desperate because the man was completely unconscious, so it was a hard situation to deal with. And then finally all of the paramedics and the staff from the hotel came over there.
“The thing is that the location of the beach is quite difficult to get in, but I believe that next time at least the lifeguard should have a defibrillator, a CPR machine, because in these kinds of situations time is the main key. If you lost time you might lose the patient as well. Everybody that was there was helping and we woke up this man from unconsciousness, we saved his life.”
Diaz, who said he was happy that he was present to apply his knowledge and skills to help the man, noted that this was not the first time he had swung into action to save someone who had gotten into difficulty while swimming.
“When I was practicing surfing at my local beach, I have been involved in three to four of these kinds of incidents so I know how to deal with it. But by the way, you get nervous as well. It’s a really bad situation”.
The visitor said following the incident, he has seen the spouse of the man several times at the Crane. Diaz related that he was told that the man is still hospitalised.
“They were going to take him on a medical flight from Barbados to Miami and then from Miami to Canada to his local place. So, I hope that he can recover well,” Diaz said.
Acting Police Public Relations Officer Acting Station Sergeant Michael Blackman confirmed that there was a “near drowning” at the Crane beach around 11:30 a.m. on Monday.
He however did not reveal the name of the victim. anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb
